Category Archives: Bomb Blast

[With about 80 people dead in the attack on Church and resent earthquake (in which it is feared deaths to reach 1000) both indicate how ineffective our govt. has been in protecting and serving it’s citizens. A deafening silence for the earthquake victims on social level shows how much we have just accepted that our govt. cannot do anything for us.]

[note: a friend pointed out that what I wrote feels like I am saying only minorities are being targeted. No they are not the only ones, there have been consistent attacks on masajids, bazars and security forces. Ones who are attacking minorities are attacking all Pakistanis (Daata Darbar attack is not so distant event). However it does not mean our society does not need more open communication among religious groups living in it. We all might not be spilling hate about them, but we do get criminally silent whenever someone is killed in the name of blasphemy. Putting a friend’s face to group might reduce our biases. ]

Let me start by saying I don’t believe in protesting against terrorists. No I don’t believe that holding banners and marching while shouting slogans on the Mall road (Lahore) is going to deter terrorists from attacking another mall or church or school or masjid; brutally and cowardly killing innocent people. So all those questions about shame of being Muslim and protesting against terrorist just indicate how naive are we.

I am not talking about not protesting against government, we can protest against lack of security, unequipped and poorly armed police and poorly functioning security net that should have predicted such event. We can protest against all this but against terrorists such protests loose their meaning. Why? because they are cancer. One does not protest against cancer that plagues ones body. One takes action against it, medical procedures aside, one changes his/her life style, throws away tobacco, adds more greens in diet, starts running a bit. One takes stock of everything he/she has been doing till now and changes it.

If we are really serious in fighting this menace, if we really want to remove cancer from our bodies we should change what we have been doing till now. We have been living in monolithic society in a non monolithic population. We have been ignoring all that is different to us, like they don’t exist. Lets change that, lets allow us to get familiar with who live among us.

Lets go to Church on weekend with our families, invite members of Hindu community to our masajids, learn basics of Sikh religion, let scholars of different religions come and give lectures in our universities. Let them explain what they believe in and let us tell them what we stand for. Lets have a picnic where our kids can play together. Lets make it difficult for this cancer to spread to our next generation.

Let our kids know people with other faith are not some strangers but part of our society; it’s OK to be different, it alright to believe in something other than what you believe in. But most importantly let us teach them what other beliefs are. Lets burst the bubble we have been living and accept there is more than just what we have been told. And we do that by listening to people of different faith, let them tell what their religion is not what our imagination has cooked up.

All the goals of removing hate from our books are great, but they will not be solved by some govt. they will be solved when majority of us will have one friend who is not from our religion. When our friends will not shy in telling they are Ahmedi or Shia or Christian or Sunni or atheist or agnostic, that will makes us question all the hate we have unconsciously living with.

If we want to protest, lets protest by action and do something that will last long. Lets take a first step and meet each other, lets make one friend this week who is not in agreement with our belief system.

Add one line of the people who died two days back in Lahore, wait, further add floods of the century (not this century which has just started, literally flood not seen in this land for more than 100 years) and you have….. I don’t know what you have, scariest picture or bravest nation or country that should not be even caring about what’s going around any where else.

But no, we are eagerly waiting for investigation outcome that charges our players, the investigation in the scandal some people are called biggest in last decade. Why because frankly that’s we have got, that’s our booze, that’s our weed, that’s what keeps us to fight about something much smaller than what we face everyday.

Back to attacks, even with track record of Pakistan, these bomb-blasts are not simply an-other attack they have very open tones of Sectarian hate, and can cause widespread sectarian violence. It’s time to show leadership and come out, try to pacify the crowd. Try to deal with the situation. Let not this become fight between sunni and Shia, because it is not. It’s fight between us and terrorists.

Triple bomb blasts have hit Lahore and on the Shia procession, near Gamea Sha. Newspapers are telling the names of different routes taken by the suicide bomber; I read names of those places and fell anguish and sadness. These are places where I have rode my bike so many times; sometimes worry free, sometimes in hurry, … but these are places that belong to me not to these terrorists. I see video footage of the scenes after the bomb blast and you see people in trauma, in one video one woman was just running here and there, unable to be controlled by many men. This is true representation of victims of these blasts.

I want to say I Stand with my Shia brothers, but is it enough? Is it enough to say I stand by the victims?

These people were targeted due to their faith? one can say, but most importantly they were targeted because they are part of the Pakistan. Success of each such event where a group having different point of view is involved, strengthens publics view of it’s own society. Each such event makes a person believe that he is part of this country, this society.

We should remember that previously two places regarded with very deep respect by Sunni’s have been targeted, Data-Darbar and Mosque in Garhishow, in which a famous sunni scholar was killed because he was against Taliban. It will huge disservice to the people who have died to label this bomb blast as against Shia and extension of negative Shia perception in Sunni majority society. Yes there exist prejudices and negative ideas about each other, but this does not mean people want to kill each other. My grandfather used to take me to the Shia procession, holding his hand we used to watch men chanting in one voice, rhythm by the beat on their chests and then there comes outs the chains; it used to be such enthralling scene. Many sunni’s still go to these processions, it’s part of our culture. I don’t know if any of the dead is Sunni or not, but it should not matter.

What should matter is our resolve against terrorists? Should we allow them to tell us what is right and what is wrong? Should we allow them to dictate the terms because they have guns and our governments plus establishments have been weak in dealing with them?

We should question why and how? Why and how these people were able to attack? Saying one cannot stop Suicide bomber could be correct, once it is in the public it’s very difficult, but they need the equipment, they need plan, they need logistics, that’s where our mistake comes.

It’s time that we put more money in our security agencies, namely police and FIA; it’s the war where we need them. Give them technology, give them training, give them more man power and most importantly give them respect.

About 100 people have died in the Yakagund and you know what are headlines of our news-media websites is? Yes, you will think, it will be about plight of the people, sketches of perpetrators, articles regarding how the investigation is going, might be something why the Taliban attacked this little known place, why it was important.

Oh no! you forget this is Pakistan not some Western country, where even just a unblown car parked in NY streets can trigger news blaze of many days and manhunt on much bigger scale. And no this is not like Britian where 7 july terrorism caused a country wide investigation, where in few days the houses were raided and explosives were found. Let me stress media did not let the administration go, they kept the watch, they kept it as main story.

No sir this is Pakistan, after one day the main pages of the big Pakistani media outlet’s websites don’t have any article on it. Dawn has some images in their media gallery, 12 of them to be precise. AAJ, has a general information news report of about 1 minute. Geo Tv’s website does not this news, atleast I was not able to find it. Tribune express has news about it way down their page in “More News” section.

Where as open the http://www.guardian.co.uk/ and you get it On the front page in the opening frame, no scrolling down to read about death of 100 people. BBC has it in OTHER TOP STORIES section on their main page, and on-top in their South Asia page.

Don’t take me wrong, I am not criticizing Pakistani media for caring too much about the degrees of Parliamentarians, I think they are doing a good job here. These frauds ruling us should be exposed and prosecuted. But media should not put death of 100 people on inside page. News agencies should be swamping the area with their reporters, their investigative journalists should be exposing the negligences, their analysts should be telling us why these people were targeted. Run the mill journalists covering condition of treatment and facilities available in those areas.

But no we are forgetting them, forget similarly but more quickly than we are forgetting about the Data Darbar. Our media has failed to be investigative and persistent; simply doing talk shows and making viewers listen to analysts debates cannot make their shows come close to reports of international media.

One question that keeps coming to my mind, has this attack happened in Lahore would our news media websites will have same headlines?

I dont know whether she died from the shrapnel/splinter, bullet or as our ministry says the lever of the sunroof. What I know is that where her car stopped was not scheduled and her coming out of the car was also unscheduled/unplanned and result of the decision at that instance.

So what was shooter and suicider doing there? Why was he sent there? to kill Benazir in the bomb proof and bullet proof car? Were the planners so stupid that they were planning to kill Benazir but their whole plan was based on that ‘if/if she comes out?’.

Or their whole plan to kill ‘few common people’ and scare out people from the Pakistan People Party.

They caught Benazir unexpectedly? It was not in their plan? Now they have got much larger than they could handle?Definitely when you send some stupid-head to blow himself and kill hundreds of people around him, he will try to get the ‘bigger prize’ he can get before going to next station.
Unfortunately that mad man got what was prized by many as Leader of Pakistan.

Media is describing her assassination that she just came out of the sunrise window to wave for the crowd but they are not raising the questions about how it is possible that some assassin got clear shot in such small amount of time. Or was he lucky? But how did that lucky devil knew that car will stop at this point?

News is also there that the dead body has not been given any postmortem, why? I dont understand. How will they decide that whether she died with bullet or shrapnel? Without the medical exam who will tell how far away was murderer?.

These questions might not be able to find the conspirator, but not answering them will definitely raise more shades, give boost to the conspiracy theories. More fingers will be raised on the government, citing not only their incompetence but doubts about their involvement

When Liaqat Ali Khan was killed, his murderer was killed on the spot and by the police themselves, till now we do not know why Liaqat Ali Khan was killed. Lots of questions that are still raised but there is no way to answer them.

Sad event for the Rawalpindi, it now has blood of two leaders on their streets.How different are two leaders, one about whom it is said that he was wearing clothes having holes in them and other who has long list of corruption on her. One who played important role in creation of the country, other whose biggest achievement was nothing more that being daughter of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. She might had potential of doing something great, but what ever she had she lost it in the dirt of the politics and personal dictatorship.

But she was leader, leader of this nation that does not get any leader for long time.

Nation who is so unfortunate that their best leaders are Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir.